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D&D Races: Evolution, Fantasy Stereotypes & Escapism
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<blockquote data-quote="DarkMantle" data-source="post: 8527086" data-attributes="member: 7034738"><p>As someone new-ish to the recent controversies, I tried to deconstruct the "big picture" and make sense of all the conflicted feelings going around. Here's an hypothesis:</p><p></p><p><strong>Evolution says "Keep it simple, stupid"</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Humans are predisposed to binary thinking, pattern seeking, and stereotypical thinking</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">For our ancestors, this was an evolutionary feature to increase efficiency and reduce cognitive load, which presumably increased their likelihood of survival</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Today, we are still averse to uncertainty and ambiguity</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">So we still reduce a complicated world into simplified narratives.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This feels good and gives us peace of mind to see the world in simpler terms.</li> </ul><p><strong>It's simply fantasy</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This attractive perspective made its way into fantasy fiction through its authors' POVs and the readers who enjoyed it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fantasy is escapism, not homework. It allows us to explore human themes without taking up the same cognitive category as the burdens of real-life.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If there was fantasy fiction that wasn't escapist enough, it didn't sell as well.</li> </ul><p><strong>Fantasy stereotypes</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fantasy races are also an outcome of stereotypical thinking.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Each race was a subset of human personalities. All dwarves typically have so-and-so traits. Orcs were cardboard caricatures of the Other. They didn't have a wide separate personality spectrum.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This was practical: It would be almost impossible (?) to come up with fantasy races that are both un-human and relatable for mainstream readers.</li> </ul><p><strong>Escapism was for fun, not homework</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If D&D is an escapism from a messy, complicated, uncertain, ambiguous world, than stereotypes fit easily into fantasy worlds.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">D&D was to relax and have fun. The hard thinking was for real-life.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Only if D&D were an escapism of a different sort, like where players want to engage with complicated "there is no right answer" dilemmas, then stereotypes don’t play a role and and are even disadvantageous.</li> </ul><p><strong>Conflicting goals</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">So this is where different goals come into conflict.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The modern world was starting to realize that an increasing number of stereotypes are really problematic in a global civilization</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">For the designers of D&D, the goal was always to make a game that people want to purchase, play and enjoy.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On the other hand, significant portion of society wants to move away from harmful or problematic stereotypes, where they may be.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Meanwhile, our brain have not finished catching up to modern civilization. The brain still likes what it likes 100,000 years ago, and the way we feel isn't going away.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In D&D, stereotypes can continue to feel settling (for escaping from an overly complicated world) or unsettling (where they touch close to real-life pain)</li> </ul><p>Given all these goals, I think we are caught up redefining what fun and escapism is all about.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DarkMantle, post: 8527086, member: 7034738"] As someone new-ish to the recent controversies, I tried to deconstruct the "big picture" and make sense of all the conflicted feelings going around. Here's an hypothesis: [B]Evolution says "Keep it simple, stupid"[/B] [LIST] [*]Humans are predisposed to binary thinking, pattern seeking, and stereotypical thinking [*]For our ancestors, this was an evolutionary feature to increase efficiency and reduce cognitive load, which presumably increased their likelihood of survival [*]Today, we are still averse to uncertainty and ambiguity [*]So we still reduce a complicated world into simplified narratives. [*]This feels good and gives us peace of mind to see the world in simpler terms. [/LIST] [B]It's simply fantasy[/B] [LIST] [*]This attractive perspective made its way into fantasy fiction through its authors' POVs and the readers who enjoyed it. [*]Fantasy is escapism, not homework. It allows us to explore human themes without taking up the same cognitive category as the burdens of real-life. [*]If there was fantasy fiction that wasn't escapist enough, it didn't sell as well. [/LIST] [B]Fantasy stereotypes[/B] [LIST] [*]Fantasy races are also an outcome of stereotypical thinking. [*]Each race was a subset of human personalities. All dwarves typically have so-and-so traits. Orcs were cardboard caricatures of the Other. They didn't have a wide separate personality spectrum. [*]This was practical: It would be almost impossible (?) to come up with fantasy races that are both un-human and relatable for mainstream readers. [/LIST] [B]Escapism was for fun, not homework[/B] [LIST] [*]If D&D is an escapism from a messy, complicated, uncertain, ambiguous world, than stereotypes fit easily into fantasy worlds. [*]D&D was to relax and have fun. The hard thinking was for real-life. [*]Only if D&D were an escapism of a different sort, like where players want to engage with complicated "there is no right answer" dilemmas, then stereotypes don’t play a role and and are even disadvantageous. [/LIST] [B]Conflicting goals[/B] [LIST] [*]So this is where different goals come into conflict. [*]The modern world was starting to realize that an increasing number of stereotypes are really problematic in a global civilization [*]For the designers of D&D, the goal was always to make a game that people want to purchase, play and enjoy. [*]On the other hand, significant portion of society wants to move away from harmful or problematic stereotypes, where they may be. [*]Meanwhile, our brain have not finished catching up to modern civilization. The brain still likes what it likes 100,000 years ago, and the way we feel isn't going away. [*]In D&D, stereotypes can continue to feel settling (for escaping from an overly complicated world) or unsettling (where they touch close to real-life pain) [/LIST] Given all these goals, I think we are caught up redefining what fun and escapism is all about. [/QUOTE]
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